ABSTRACT (ISLET & PHYSIOLOGY CORE) The Islet & Physiology Core supports the overall mission of the Indiana Diabetes Research Center (IDRC) to foster collaboration, support training, and promote cutting edge research in diabetes and related metabolic disorders by providing comprehensive and state-of-the art services in rodent islet isolation; zebrafish, rodent, swine, and human islet characterization; human, rodent, and swine islet transplantation; and rodent metabolic phenotyping. The Islet and Physiology Core supports the work of IDRC investigators from Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSM) and its affiliated institutions, working closely with members to provide ?wrap- around? services that include assistance with experimental design, efficient execution of experiments, and assistance with data analysis and interpretation. The Core serves both experienced as well as novice users and functions as an important conduit for facilitating entry into the field for investigators who have not traditionally worked with islets or performed metabolic research. In addition to consultative and experimental services, the Core provides training for investigators who wish to incorporate specialized techniques back into their own lab. The Director of the Core is Dr. C. Evans-Molina, the Associate Director is Dr. S. Tersey, and the Assistant Director is Dr. R. Anderson. The leadership is assisted by a crew of technical staff and advised by an Advisory Board. The Core closely interfaces with the IDRC Translation Core, Microscopy Core, Systems & Informatics Core, and Swine Core to meet the experimental needs of our user base, while also adhering to the highest standards of rigor, reproducibility, refinement, and reduction. The Core will achieve the following aims: (1) To provide IDRC investigators with high quality rodent islets and facilitate the procurement of human and swine islets and pancreatic tissues for analysis. (2) To provide state-of-the-art human, rodent, zebrafish and swine islet and pancreas characterization services. (3) To provide state-of-the art rodent metabolic analysis, including assessment of glucose and insulin tolerance, body composition, energy expenditure, activity levels, and food intake. (4) To provide consultation services and training that is tailored to fit the needs of both experienced users and users who are new diabetes and metabolic research. (5). To ensure that Core services evolve to meet IDRC investigator needs and keep pace with new developments in the field